kimberly at home

Tag Archives: celebrations

Karen started a new job last week teaching a class at University of Illinois at Chicago. We wanted to give Professor Karen (I’m sure her students call her something more formal.) a little good luck gift to send her off on her first day.Like me, Karen loves Frixion pens, so I pulled a .05 from the “Japanese vault” and added it with a couple of pencils from C.W. Pencils. The Editor looked like a perfect pencil for grading and planning. (Are papers still graded on…paper?) And the Graphite/Highlighter combo seemed perfect for planning and note taking. I folded a little origami pencil holder for them out of my new favorite pencil paper. I’ll post a quick tutorial for the pencil holder next week. It’s so easy and they have so many uses! (They’re actually chopstick holders!)

P.S. Thinking of our friends (and family!) in Florida and the Carolinas this weekend as another hurricane heads for the US. The devastation on the islands in the Atlantic is just heartbreaking. And still thinking of our friends in Texas who are cleaning up after last month’s hurricane.

On Monday, Naoto and I made the trip to the southern part of Illinois to be in the “Path of Totality” so we could see the full eclipse. It was incredible! I’ll have a post about the full day soon–I’m just trying to recover from driving over 800 miles and thinking about how fleeting it was…

But today, I’m sharing the special postmark from tiny Makanda, Illinois. This is where we watched the eclipse, alongside locals and hundreds of other people from Chicagoland. The Makanda post office created a special postmark (seen in the top picture) to commemorate the day. They had a tent outside where they sold the special eclipse stamps and cancelled envelopes and postcards for everyone. There was always a huge line (our viewing spot was across the street so we could see the line ebb and flow throughout the day) and it was hilarious because a lot of people were not postal “nerds” so they didn’t understand how the whole thing worked.

“So, I can just buy one stamp and then they’ll cancel it?”

“How much is a stamp?”

“Can I mail it?”

“I have to bring my own postcard?”

Of course, when they learned it was only forty-nine cents, people were really excited to buy a few for their friends to commemorate the day. And when they saw how neat the eclipse postage stamp is, they were even more excited! It was fun to see the post office getting some well-deserved love. The two postal workers couldn’t have been more delightful, sitting out in the heat and patiently explaining everything to postal novices and then cancelling hundreds of postcards and envelopes for people. Oh and they were giving out Moon Pies! I ordered a few of these Total Solar Eclipse postcards from Hammerpress that I brought with me. And I sent some mail themed cards from my stash and these Tiny Post Office cards, which fit in nicely with Makanda. The Tiny Post Office and Hammerpress cards took the ink of the cancellation way better than some of my other, shinier cards, but the post ladies were great about setting them out to dry for a bit before stacking them up.

If you are interested in a special eclipse cancellation, the Letter Writers Alliance shared a list of participating post offices. I didn’t see Makanda on there, but according to this article, they will perform the cancellation for up to thirty days after the event. Send your addressed and stamped postcards or letters to:

Makanda Postmaster

709 Makanda Road

Makanda, IL 62958

I ran out of time to write postcards to everyone on my list, so I may still send a few their way. And I didn’t see any cheesy eclipse t-shirts I liked, so my cancelled postcard is the only souvenir I have. That’s enough for me.

Right after returning home from LA, the Letter Writers Alliance ladies hosted a 10th Anniversary toast at Greer in Chicago. Naoto and I made a date of it and ate dinner in the neighborhood. We enjoyed incredible cocktails and a fantastic dinner at White Oak Tavern, a few blocks away from Greer. At Greer, we toasted the LWA with sparking wine and milled around shopping and talking. Donovan shared all of her favorites from the shop and she and Kathy introduced us to a new-to-me paper that works with both fountain pens and other pens (which I’ll share in a future post.) In addition to the local crowd, two of Donovan and Kathy’s faraway friends came to town for the party and one LWA member came from Champaign, Illinois (about 140 miles away!!) As you know, I always love a letter writing crowd. The people and the magical atmosphere of Greer made for a fine night.

I was so excited for my trip to LA, obviously to celebrate the LWA, but the cherry on top was a visit to the Paper Pastries shop. I’ve ordered online before and some wonderful friends have sent me Paper Pastries gifts, so seeing it all in person was a delight. Paper Pastries is filled with the sweetest stationery, gifts, wrapping paper, pens, rubber stamps (that Margaret designs and makes in house,) and one of the most incredible selections of indie greeting cards I’ve ever seen. Most of the shop consists of independent artists’ and designers’ work, which always makes for unique finds! Look at all of the fun greeting cards! There are tons of letterpressed options and most have bright colors and funny or cheerful greetings. There’s even an entire section of CAT CARDS! Pictured above (on top of one of my favorite (now discontinued) donut papers from Snow & Graham) is what I bought at Paper Pastries: sushi stickers, a travel journal, a neon notepad, greeting cards, a cat stationery set, rubber stamps, resistance postcards, and a postage stamp pin.

I’ve been sending a lot of neon mail this summer, but I think cat mail may be the next trend!! Stay tuned!

Last month Naoto surprised me with a trip to Los Angeles for the Letter Writers Alliance 10th anniversary party hosted by Margaret from Paper Pastries. Margaret and I have been pen pals for a few years now but we’d only met briefly at Ex Postal Facto. So I was really looking forward to seeing her again and meeting her sweet family. The trip exceeded my expectations. There wasn’t a ton of time for sight seeing (especially since my Friday was cut short thanks to flight delays, womp womp) but I loved the time I spent with Margaret and celebrating ten years of writing with the LWA.

On Friday afternoon, Margaret took me to the top of City Hall for a view of LA. Then we shopped around Little Tokyo. Chicago doesn’t have a Japanese neighborhood so it was such a treat to go to these little shops and restaurants. We haven’t planned our 2017 trip to Japan yet, so I’m feeling a little Japan withdrawal so it was great to immerse myself in the cuteness of Little Tokyo. I bought some stickers and a fuurin, which is a Japanese wind chime. (I’ve been wanting one for Tanabata next month. I’ll show you soon!)

We also had Honeymee which was amazing and is making me rethink my summer treats. It’s a special soft serve that comes topped with a real honeycomb. Seriously, what a combination! It was so good and worth the sticky hands that followed.

I also got to go to Poketo which has been on my list for some time. I only bought some greeting cards but I just love their style. ​

On Saturday morning I went to brunch with Margaret, her husband Tony, and their adorable daughter Ellis. (Sadly no pictures of this…)

Then I killed time at the Museum of Neon Arts in Glendale. It was the smallest museum ever, but it was packed with neon signs and modern art. I liked the old neon signs the best but I was smitten with the Japanese katakana in the last piece above. (It says “neon” and was made for an art installation in Japan in 1998.)

On Saturday afternoon, a few dozen people showed up at Paper Pastries for the official Letter Writers Alliance anniversary party and letter writing social. I shopped, I wrote a few postcards, I chatted, I drank champagne punch, and I ate the most delicious cake ever–white cake with white frosting and COVERED in festive sprinkles. It was perfect. It was so amazing to see people come from far and wide to celebrate letter writing! The letter writing community is so diverse and friendly!

After the party we all went out for dumplings and drinks which was the perfect ending for a day with pen pals who’ve become true friends.

On Sunday my flight left pretty early so I just had time to finish some postcards and eat an In-and-Out burger, my first. (It was good…I didn’t get the fries because it was 10:30AM.) Whew…it was a whirlwind trip. Now I’m home and looking forward to the NEXT LWA party, tomorrow night at Greer!

Maybe you know this about me…I haven’t seen many movies. In fact, most movies made in this century, I’ve only seen because I’ve been on plenty of long plane rides. When the Oscars come around, most years I haven’t seen any of the nominees. Recently, Ida (Best Foreign Film) is the only one I can remember seeing. So it should be unsurprising that I’ve never seen The Godfather. The movie turned forty-five this year and TCM brought it back to the big screen on Sunday (and today! Go if you can!) I knew it would be the perfect way to experience this classic for the first time.

I decided to make an event of it and host a Godfather feast after the movie. We drank chianti and enjoyed the fabulous antipasto platter pictured at the top, caprese salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and cannoli while we talked about the movie and how crazy good looking Al Pacino was in the 70s. (Especially in uniform.)

I’ve seen quite a few of the Fandango/TCM Big Screen Classics and they are well-done and not widely attended (at least around my neighborhood.) The TCM people do a little introduction and closing with some history of the movie, which is always fascinating and helps put the classic in context. I’m checking out the rest of this year’s line up to see what other parties we can plan–E.T. is coming and I haven’t seen that since the 80s so it will be like seeing it again for the first time!

Have you seen any good movies lately? (Old or new!)

P.S. As usual, not a sponsored post. And pics of The Godfather courtesy of the movie…not my own camera. 🙂

A few weeks ago, we threw a surprise fiesta-themed retirement party for our friend Karen. Her last day at her job was May 5th so we deemed it “Cinco de Karen.” We told her that Naoto and I were going to take her out to dinner, but instead, all of the guests were waiting for her in the lobby. (Because she lives across the hall from us, I thought it would be too risky for guests to come in, for fear she would leave her apartment for something and run into a random friend.) Karen was really surprised. The apartment was decorated with papel picado everywhere. (Sadly, it was plastic and not the paper one I ordered…womp womp!) I bought a colorful table runner and added a few succulents to tin cans for the table. Our friend Jackie made a taco piñata which was AMAZING! Seriously…is it not the cutest taco you’ve ever seen? (Plus it was filled with grown-up candies!) I made a taco garland (Naoto is holding a piece of it above.) but we hung it in the living room where it didn’t get much air time. I didn’t want to compete with the big taco!And I made giant cacti out of cardboard, tissue paper, and spray paint. Of course I waited until the last minute so the morning of the party, I was outside on the balcony spray painting in the wind. Thank goodness for giant boxes to catch the overspray. (Idea from here.) Now I’m addicted to oversized party decorations–think of the possibilities! We drank (too many) margaritas and ate chips and salsa and homemade guacamole, beef and chicken tacos, Mexican corn salad, fruit, and a Mexican chocolate mousse pie. Jackie made a little door in the piñata so we didn’t have to beat it up to break into it. Genius! Now the taco can live on! It was such a fun night and I’m so relieved we were able to pull off the surprise. Congratulations to Karen as she starts a new career chapter!

P.S. Picture of “surprised Karen” by Peggy. Pictures of taco by Jackie.

Last Sunday I had a few people over for a letter writing party. I ordered the Party Pack, which was kind of a party-in-a-box with pens, confetti, and Write On packs for everyone, along with other goodies like a printable invitation, a letter writing themed playlist, and a Write On calendar and tote. I hung some vintage air mail envelopes and a Japanese air mail kakejiku (hanging scroll) from the ceiling and I strung up a few more air mail envelopes to make a garland. I covered the table in kraft paper and sprinkled the confetti along with some mail things from my collection. Each person got a Write On kit and a little brochure about letter writing. On the stereo, I had all of my mail themed rubber stamps and washi tapes along with some extra air mail envelopes, postcards, and my new Mr. Zip book. (He deserves his own blog post!) For snacks, I made a pot of tea and put out some Trader Joe’s truffles, some Japanese Happy Turn crackers, and I made these little envelope pies. I found the idea here–they were so easy and even though mine looked rather imperfect, they were a really fun addition to the simple menu. It was a relaxing afternoon of chatting and letter writing. We all really wrote letters! (I finished two!!) My only regret is that we didn’t have Naoto take a picture of us writing in action, but we got a fun group shot using Photo Booth (at the top.) I think I’ve said this before, but I love letter socials. Obviously letter writing is a good solitary activity, but sometimes it’s interesting to get together and share our hobby in person.

I’m a little sad Write On is over, but the letter writing shall continue! I managed (thanks to a solid push to the finish line last night) to finish 31 postcards and letters and I’ve replied to everyone from my pile of overdue mail…whew! I need to give myself a pep talk to keep that momentum going in May!